Rangers dug out a come-from-behind win for beleaguered boss Pedro Caixinha when he needed it most.

Three goals in six first half minutes - a double from Declan John and the other from Daniel Candeias - finally steadied their listing ship after Accies had taken a stunning first minute lead through Danny Redmond.

And despite losing Ryan Jack to two yellows in seven sloppy minutes after the break, a Graham Dorrans penalty sealed the deal for Gers and lifted them into third place in the table.

The Ibrox manager said the reaction of his players after last week’s derby doing would tell him and the watching world what kind of character his players had.

Dorrans celebrates his goal (Image: SNS Group)

And with the axing of Kenny Miller from his squad, the pressure on them to perform increased.

But despite the wobble, they came through, with Candeias in particular showing his countryman some much needed love after his goal with a demonstration of his loyalty.

Accies had stunned the sway end into silence inside the first minute, and it was another disaster for Fabio Cardoso, stripped by Rakish Bingham before his effort was parried back out to Danny Redmond to control the finish over the line with Wes Foderingham scrambling desperately.

But Martin Canning’s side, sub consciously or not, made the mistake of thinking they could defend a one-goal cushion for 89 minutes.

Daniel Candeias scores his side's third goal (Image: SNS Group)

And when the dam broke, it did so in spectacular fashion.

Declan John’s run and finish from 20 yards was met with relief more than joy by the away support.

And the former Cardiff City full back - who added another dimension to Rangers’ attack on the left - made it two in three minutes, his second a nightmare for keeper Darren Jamieson, deflecting through him at the near post from a tight angle.

But it was the third from Daniel Candeias - set-up by a brilliant Graham Dorrans ball - which sparked the first major show of support for their beleaguered boss, the Portugues winger making a beeline for him after slotting home.

The three points were as good as theirs at that point, but Accies still gifted a fourth to Rangers, despite the Ibrox side going down to 10 men with two Ryan Jack yellows inside seven second half minutes.

Some sloppy defending by Alex Gogic handed Gers a penalty and Dorrans dinked the spot-kick home.

Accies had the chance to pull one back from the spot but Foderingham saved a poor effort from Bingham.

3 talking points

Bullish from Pedro

Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha (Image: SNS Group)

Pedro Caixinha lives to fight another day - and Daniel Candeias’ one-man stampede to the dugout when he scored shows at least some in the dressing room are loyal and giving their lot for him. To be fair, you’d like to hope so with seven of the starting 11 his signings. That’s the very least they should owe him.

Not Fab yet

Fabio Cardoso is going to need a crash course on his one v one defending if he wants to survive the season in the Rangers team. Rakish Bingham pulled his pants around his ankles in the first minute to set up the Accies goal and it’s not the first time he’s been found wanting in his individual battles this term.

Accies crashing

Ryan Jack with Ioannis Skondras (Image: SNS Group)

One point out of 15 for Accies, four defeats on the bounce - the early promise of their season looks like falling back into another attritional campaign. In fairness, they started well and finished well against Rangers, forcing three decent late saves from Foderingham, but the chunk in the middle was woeful, and their ball retention will need to be a lot better.